Chapter 432
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 432
Chapter Title: There Is a Way
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Hng.”
The girl who had drunk the medicinal soup.
Ekaterina set down the bowl.
Then she casually asked the silver-haired maid holding a tray beside her.
“The seal was a success, right?”
“Yes.”
“And that's thanks to Aynsha just happening to bring the legendary grand witch along.”
“99% is thanks to you, Princess.”
“But the important part is always that final 1%, isn't it?”
“……”
“You did all the hard work, but the best part got snatched away.”
The Seven Dragon Society couldn't lose face as the greatest plundering clan.
She giggled for a moment.
Then Ekaterina asked again.
“Where are our naughty big brother and cute little sister right now? What are they up to?”
“They're in a meeting.”
“Oh? Where?”
“……Are you planning to go watch?”
“When a brother and sister are holed up in some secluded spot during their prime, how could I not peek in and see what they're doing?”
There might be other people in that meeting room.
The siblings never did anything weird even in private.
Ekaterina absolutely needed to rest right now.
Kana didn't point any of that out.
She simply opened her mouth coldly.
“Princess, may I say just one thing?”
“Oh, are you about to confess to me? Sorry, Kana. I already have a brother I like.”
“You were too reckless.”
“I gave you a serious answer, so ignoring it like that hurts my feelings.”
As if regretting that her joke hadn't landed.
Kana continued coldly, looking at the grumbling Ekaterina.
“Not content with fighting the Demon God, you even self-harmed to force a dragon transformation. What if something had gone wrong? What was your plan then?”
“I knew it'd work out somehow. And in the end, it did, didn't it?”
“You were just lucky this time. In reality, there was over a 70% chance you could've been in real danger.”
Any ordinary god or lord might be one thing.
But the Demon God was the being that had even pushed Rimon to the brink of death and driven the Azure Dragon Princess of the era to her demise.
Normally, facing it head-on should have been avoided at all costs.
Whether the citizens of Moscow were massacred.
Or Russia was reduced to ashes.
Even so, watching her princess gamble her life on an absurd bet, Kana said sharply.
“Your life isn't just yours alone. Remember that we have the 'right' to protect you.”
Whether used like dogs for the clan.
Or killed or tormented on a whim.
If it was the princess's will, they would follow gladly.
But they could not allow the princess—who hadn't even borne an heir—to put herself in mortal peril.
Her sole duty was to safely pass on her pure bloodline until the day the seven dragons revived.
And……
“Above all, keep this in mind.”
“You promised that rather than abandon me, you'd destroy me instead.”
“If you forget that promise and act on your own again……”
With her usual cold face.
But eyes more chilling than ever.
Staring straight at Ekaterina.
Kana finished her words.
“We will force you to keep it.”
“……”
“Then, please rest well.”
After bowing with utmost politeness.
The silver-haired maid picked up the tray with the empty bowl and left the room. Ekaterina stared at the spot where she had vanished for a moment.
Then she smirked.
“As expected, our kids are a problem because they're too sane.”
She might end up tied up and confined if she wasn't careful.
After muttering happily to herself.
Ekaterina slipped out of her seat. She stealthily exited the room…… no, the massive camping RV she was in.
She gazed at the containers and tents everywhere.
No, more precisely, at the countless people bustling between them, and muttered.
“No matter how ragtag they are, marching right up to Moscow's doorstep without the New Revolutionary Army or Revolutionary Government noticing. My army really is competent.”
That's right.
They were none other than the Russian army.
From the start of the revolution until now, they'd only ever fled.
They'd despaired the Revolutionary Government by never showing their faces.
Yet somehow, they were now building fortifications in the suburbs of Moscow.
With a massive force of hundreds of thousands, no less.
If Sergey hadn't pulled that insane stunt of reviving the Demon God, what would have happened?
It was truly intriguing.
Of course, if the Demon God hadn't been summoned, the Russian army wouldn't have made it this far in the first place.
Giggling at the thought, Ekaterina stepped lightly forward.
“Ah! There you are!”
Dododo, grab!
And shortly after.
Having found Rimon in the largest command tent at the center of the camp, Ekaterina immediately clung to his back.
“Brother, isn't that too heartless? When your cute little sister collapses from illness, you should nurse her by her side.”
“……Leaving aside that you're more like an arch-enemy than a cute little sister, aren't you forgetting we're not actually blood-related?”
“Ditching your sister the moment she's outlived her usefulness? Brothers really are bad guys.”
The conversation was giving him a headache the more it went on, furrowing his brow, but Rimon didn't shake Ekaterina off.
He just asked bluntly.
“You okay?”
“I'm perfectly fine now that you're worried about me, brother!”
“I'm asking seriously, so answer seriously.”
“Mm, honestly? About half and half? Not completely fine, but way better than I expected.”
When Rimon asked in earnest, Ekaterina answered honestly.
Dragon transformation was dangerous enough as it was.
Especially forcing it through self-harm without the Seven Dragon Guard present—it could shave years off her life or leave permanent damage.
Even her life could be at risk, like with Maia.
That was why even Kana, who always obeyed without question, had issued a stern warning.
In that regard, her condition was remarkably mild.
With proper rest, she'd recover fully without any aftereffects.
“It's weirdly amazing. Even though the transformation was short, I pushed myself pretty hard, right?”
“……”
“But after all that strain, I feel refreshed, like something incredibly good happened. Any idea what it might've been?”
“……Who knows.”
“Really? That's a shame.”
It felt like there was something she absolutely had to receive, but she couldn't remember, which was a pity.
As she grumbled to herself for a bit.
Ekaterina suddenly asked.
“More importantly, brother, how's the situation? I heard it's pretty bad.”
“Quite serious.”
“That bad?”
“Yeah.”
Rimon furrowed his brow.
While the Demon God was sealed, evacuate the Moscow citizens and smash it.
If they could pull that off, it'd be ideal.
The problem was that the evacuation wasn't going smoothly.
“All Moscow citizens are currently exposed to the Demon God's curse and unconscious. They can't evacuate on their own.”
“I know that, but then just rescue them instead of evacuating, right?”
“That's the issue— we can't. Even sealed, the energy it spread is still lingering.”
Moscow was currently blanketed in the Demon God's curse.
Regular people fainted just entering.
Even decent experts or high-level Players lost consciousness after prolonged exposure.
Machines malfunctioned constantly, making drones impossible and vehicles unreliable.
“The Silver Dragon Clan is fully mobilized for rescue ops, but at this rate, we won't make it before the seal breaks.”
“Rough estimate on how many we can save?”
“If we're lucky, maybe 10%.”
“Whoa, that's definitely serious.”
Despite her admiring words, Ekaterina couldn't laugh.
Only 10% savable meant tens of millions left behind.
Even focusing on downtown, slicing the Demon God would kill at least hundreds of thousands.
“Can't reinforce the seal more? With the Radiant Dragon Guard here, we could push a bit harder once.”
“Unfortunately, that's not possible.”
Answering Ekaterina's suggestion wasn't Rimon, but Cir, who was sipping tea on the side.
As the one who had used magic barriers to prevent and reinforce the seal's breaking, Cir continued calmly.
“I don't know about you, but I have no more tribute left for another seal.”
“Tribute? Aynsha looted tons from Moscow, right? Use that……”
“I already did.”
“Huh?”
“It means she used every mystical material and magic treasure White Baby gathered not just from Moscow, but all of Russia, to seal the Demon God.”
“……All of that?”
“Do you think sealing a Demon God comes cheap?”
If sealing the Demon God were easy, the 27 Houses of Magic wouldn't have barely held with the London Great Barrier.
This seal was a miracle possible only because Ekaterina had frozen time and Cir cast the spell.
Missing one element, and it'd have failed even with ten times the treasures.
Ekaterina narrowed her eyes at the languid legendary grand witch.
“So the seal's just a stopgap, and we have to resolve it before the grace period ends?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm, tricky.”
Ekaterina scratched her head.
Even she, the acknowledged genius of the Seven Dragon Society, couldn't see a solution.
“It's fine. There is a way.”
The white-haired girl stared impassively at Ekaterina, still clinging to Rimon's back.
That was why she half-doubted Aynsha's words.
“There is?”
“Yes. Holy Alliance researched ways to stop Demon God even after Demon God War, in case it revives.”
“Those zealots did something useful for once?”
“Of course. Gods most troubled if Demon God revives. Fools not to.”
Gods draw power from faith.
Thus, they see all other gods as rivals.
The fierce religious wars of the Silver Age stemmed from that faith competition.
In that light, the Demon God—surpassing even divine ranks yet unjoinable to the Holy Alliance—was every god's natural predator.
Natural that the era's greatest magic organization, the Holy Alliance, researched it.
“Since you're saying it, Aynsha, those zealots must've found something plausible?”
“Yes. Can't explain details. But it stops Demon God without casualties.”
“Hmm, okay.”
Ekaterina nodded calmly.
A way to stop the Demon God meant a way to stop other gods too.
If it was a secret of the gods, even a Holy Alliance priestess like Aynsha couldn't divulge it casually.
One mystery remained.
“Then why not use it?”
If there's a solution, use it.
Why waste time discussing here?
Rimon fell silent, brow furrowed at her pointed question. Cir silently lifted her teacup.
Thus, Aynsha answered.
“This method needs two conditions.”
“What?”
“First, Demon God must fully revive.”
“……For real?”
“Yes. Demon God still chrysalis state. Must break chrysalis, achieve full divinity to use method.”
“That's something.”
Now she perfectly understood why Rimon just stood with arms crossed.
It had nearly killed her even unrevived.
Letting it fully revive—capable of millions of casualties just by killing it—was too risky, solution or not.
If Aynsha's method worked, great.
But if it failed?
Moscow gone at least. Worst case, half of the Russian Khanate drowned in disaster.
Even Ekaterina couldn't choose easily.
“That's still better. The real headache's the second condition.”
“What condition?”
That piqued Ekaterina's interest at Rimon's words.
What could be trickier than reviving the Demon God?
She was curious now.
But the moment she heard the second condition.
Ekaterina lost her smile.
“I must learn the Heavenly Foresight Style.”
“……”
Even when strangled by Rimon.
Even with a blade in her heart.
She never lost her playful smile.
With a cold expression she'd never shown before, staring at Aynsha, Ekaterina said sharply.
“Aynsha, are you insane?”